Underworld: Cleansing
by phillip.miner
Summary: A fan fiction story that takes place between the movies "Underworld: Evolution" and "Underworld: Awakening." Even though the vampire and Lycan elders have been defeated, the struggles of Selene and Michael are far from over, and events that lead to the discovery of the two immortal species by humans threaten to tear them apart forever.
1. Prologue

_The following is fan fiction based on the Underworld series of movies created by Screen Gems et al. As such, all copyrights are held by their respective owners, and this fan fiction is in no way approved, endorsed, or affiliated with the creators of Underworld in any way, shape, or form._

_Now with the requisite disclaimer out of the way..._

**Underworld: Cleansing**

Prologue

Twelve long years.

Losing twelve years can be traumatic on anyone's memory, human or "non-human." It is especially traumatic for myself, considering how long I have lived as a vampire, a death-dealer. Even when you have a memory that stretches as far back as mine, having a gap as large as twelve years - a gap with absolutely nothing, no sensory input to remember, no events to witness, nothing - might as well be a lifetime.

Superficially, I know what happened - the humans discovered the existence of our kind, and of the Lycans. Hysteria followed, and then came the purges. It was during the purges that the gap happened. After I awoke twelve years later, I fought back against the new enemies that had emerged during that gap, and defeated them, at least temporarily.

Many questions still remain in this different world I have only witnessed for a few days. But in order to make sense of it all, I need to remember what happened before the purges. Before the cleansing.

I need to remember how humanity came to discover us...and how Michael and I had our fate sealed, before we ourselves were sealed away for twelve years.


	2. Chapter 1

**Underworld: Cleansing**

Chapter 1

Selene and Michael had only just begun to understand the gravity of their situation...of what they had done.

All the vampire elders - Amelie, Viktor, Marcus - dead. William - the progenitor of the Lycans - dead, as well as Lucian, the one who brought the Lycans freedom. Even the founding father of them all - Alexander Corvinus, who gave Selene her newfound power in his dying breaths - dead.

The old leadership of the immortals, vampire and Lycan alike, was completely eradicated. No one, not even Selene and Michael, could predict who would fill the void. Only one thing was certain - chaos and infighting. And the only certainty that would emerge from that would be the deaths of Selene and Michael, at least if the two sat around and did nothing.

Immediately after the deaths of William and Marcus at their hands, Selene and Michael moved. They had to. They had to find shelter from the elements - even though sunlight was no longer a danger to them, they could still suffer if they stayed out in the open, if not from cold, then definitely from others trying to hunt them. Michael Corvin was still a wanted man, and after news had traveled, Selene would be equally so.

Thankfully there were survivors amongst the Cleaners, the mercenaries led by Alexander Corvinus. They eventually sent help, after learning of the death of Alexander Corvinus and the mission led by Selene to confront and eliminate Marcus and William. As they found the two sole survivors, they brought them to a Cleaner outpost where the two could plan their next move. Even without the leadership of Alexander Corvinus, they still had their overall mission - that of keeping the vampire-Lycan war from spilling into the open - to perform, and Selene was the next best thing to a clue as to how to best succeed in the mission now.

Selene and Michael were sitting alone in the room designated as the commander's quarters, and were given privacy by the commander. Both Selene and Michael had worried looks upon their faces, but Selene was the first to speak.

"Michael, as powerful as we may be, we need to find a place where we can remain hidden from both the vampires and Lycans. Even if we can defeat any vampire or Lycan we come across, even groups of them, if we stay out in the open it will only be a matter of time before they find a way to kill us. And there will be collateral damage."

"What kind of collateral damage are you talking about?" asked Michael.

"The mortal kind. You know the sway vampires and Lycans alike have over human populations. They can be turned against us, and probably already have been, aside from those loyal to Alexander Corvinus. And…" Selene sighed heavily, as the next thought weighed against her mind. "The thought of ordinary humans knowing of our existence...it can only mean bad things. That's what Alexander was trying to prevent...and I believe for good reason."

Michael immediately brought up another matter pressing against his mind. "Just how long do you think we can hide, Selene?" he asked pointedly.

"What do you mean?" replied Selene.

"In case you don't remember, we both need blood to survive. Human blood," Michael emphasized. "How long do you think we can hide before we start killing humans out of hunger?"

Selene sighed and sat down in the nearest chair, deep in thought. Michael sighed and stared upward, not having a solution of his own, being new to being immortal.

After a few moments, Selene stood up abruptly, an idea clear in her eyes. "Ziodex," she started.

"What?" asked Michael, puzzled. "What do you mean, Ziodex?"

"I thought you'd remember, but Ziodex is a corporation owned by us...by vampires."

Michael still had a puzzled look. "I do remember you mentioning it, yes, but what do they have to do with this?"

"Their latest project, which they hope to turn into a cash crop, is artificial blood. It could sustain us," said Selene with certainty.

"For how long?" replied Michael. "We'd need a steady, unending supply of it. And you just said Ziodex is run by vampires. I highly doubt they'll give you any, seeing as you just killed the vampire leadership."

"It's the only idea we have for our survival right now, unless you have a better one," Selene said. "I would say the ability to survive without the need to feed on humans should be our first priority."

"Alright," Michael said with a hint of resignation. "You're right, other priorities can come later." He stared away from Selene with worry across his face.

"Michael...what's wrong?" Selene said, softening her tone. She just realized she had been a bit harsh in speaking to him just now. She approached him with soft footsteps. "Tell me…what is bothering you?"

"It's just…" Michael began. "It's just...this whole 'immortal' thing...being a hybrid vampire Lycan whatever the hell you want to call me...I...I can't get used to it. I don't...I don't want to be one," Michael said, his facial expression and vocal tone now leaning towards despair.

Selene gripped Michael's hand in both of hers and squeezed gently. "Michael...I understand how you must feel. Being a human turned into something else is...never easy," Selene said. "When Viktor turned me, he gave me the resolve to embrace my new existence as a way of avenging my family, but when all of that turned out to be a lie, I…" Selene choked slightly, at which point Michael embraced her.

"It's not easy...for either of us," Michael stated.

Selene backed out of the embrace with a hint of resolve on her face. "If they can turn you into a hybrid," began Selene, "then I'm sure a way exists that can turn you back into a human. We will find it…" Selene turned away from Michael and continued. "But none of that will matter if our short-term survival isn't guaranteed, and it won't be as long as we don't have blood to sustain us."

Michael nodded his head in agreement. "So where can we find some of this Ziodex artificial blood?"

"There's a laboratory in the city we escaped from," answered Selene.

"How do you propose we get back into the city? After the events of a few nights ago the place will be crawling with cops and authorities, of which I'm guessing not all are human," Michael stated.

Selene looked at Michael with a glimmer of mischief in her eyes. "I think our friends here the Cleaners can help us with that. If they've kept vampires and Lycans out of the eyes of humans for this long, surely they can sneak us back in among them."


	3. Chapter 2

**Underworld: Cleansing**

Chapter 2

Selene and Michael both came out of the commander's quarters with determination in their eyes, and the commander of the Cleaners at this outpost was there to greet them. He stood tall and imposingly, with his seemingly standard military haircut only adding to his intimidating figure, while his narrow, hazel eyes were attempting to discern every move of Selene and Michael. A military name tag that read "Cmdr. Jesse Finch" adorned his sparse uniform.

"So, what's our next move? What's our next step in containing the immortal threat?" Jesse asked almost immediately.

"We need to get to the Ziodex laboratory within the city we escaped from," replied Selene.

Jesse chuffed slightly. "Why Ziodex? We have had intelligence suspecting that company was a dummy corp set up by the vampires, but why are you interested in it all of a sudden?"

"Two reasons," Selene replied coolly. "One, they make artificial blood, which can replace our need for human blood," Selene continued, emphasizing the last part.

"And I'm guessing the other is more interesting to us?" replied Jesse.

"Yes," said Selene. "If you want to gather more intelligence on where the vampires are hiding and therefore do a better job of controlling them, one way to keep track of them is through their cash flow. It's not Ziodex headquarters, but it should at least provide us with information on the latest activities of the vampires affiliated with Ziodex."

"Actually, that would be good for us," piped up Jesse. "Especially in light of recent events with that corporation."

Selene looked at Jesse with baited breath. "What do you mean?"

"Another company has taken interest in Ziodex. So much interest that they bought them out," stated Jesse.

A surprised Selene stood taken aback with the news. "Another corporation? Who? And how?"

Jesse motioned Selene and Michael to join him in the briefing room, where on a large computer screen he pulled up recent newspaper headlines from the financial section. "Antigen," started Jesse. "Like Ziodex, it started out as a niche pharmaceutical company, but when they started diversifying, they ended up making more money. A lot more money, obviously enough to buy Ziodex."

"Ziodex wouldn't let themselves be bought out that easily," stated Selene. "Especially with the secrets they keep!"

"Well, to be fair, Antigen did use some pretty underhanded tactics to buy Ziodex. Most notably, during your little spat with the vampire elders, Antigen used that opportunity to conduct a dawn raid," continued Jesse.

"A dawn raid?" questioned Michael.

"A dawn raid is a mad dash to buy as many shares of a company as possible right when the stock markets open," said Jesse. "The idea being to acquire a significant portion of the corporation in question before the owners of said corporation have any clue what's going on."

"And with so many of the vampire leaders occupied with keeping tabs on what was going on these last few nights, they had no time to respond to stop the acquisition of Ziodex." Selene sighed. "Rather convenient, isn't it?"

"Maybe a little too convenient," postulated Michael.

"Perhaps while you're getting your artificial blood," said Jesse, "you can see about grabbing us some updated information. Papers, computer files, whatever you can find. Something that could shed light on who would want Ziodex so bad."

"We'll need a way to get to Ziodex in the city first," said Selene. "I don't think we'd exactly be welcome back there."

"That part's easy," replied Jesse. "Our ability to monitor police band frequencies, combined with our allies in the police department there, can open a window for you to get back into the city and evade patrols. You'll need to be quick about collecting what you need, though," added Jesse. "If you get caught, our allies in the police won't be able to help you. You would have to fight your way out."

"Fighting may be our specialty," said Michael, "but I'd rather not exercise that talent."

"Just try not to kill anyone," said Selene with a smile. "Then there won't be a trail of blood for anyone to follow."

Jesse turned to a couple of subordinates behind him. "Get a van ready for our guests here, and hook it up with a police scanner and radio. And tell our comms people to focus on police band frequencies. Let's move!"


End file.
